Thank you for your comments, Nigel.

My first impressions are that it really is a great camera of its type - bigger than other compacts but beautifully constructed and small enough to have with me all the time, so no excuses for not taking pictures in dry weather! It is easy to use, the tilting screen being a useful feature that I hope Ricoh-Pentax put on the next DSLR; however, as with other cameras without a viewfinder, it can be more difficult to compose shots in bright conditions.

The shots were all hand-held, and the combination of SR and shutter speed kept them sharp. You are right about DR - the conditions were rather unusual, most of the sky being bright, but with a cloud bank moving over the sun so it was not lighting up the ground. Perhaps the effect would have been better corrected had I thought to switch to the camera's HDR Mode, but my brain mode can be a bit slow to react properly nowadays!

If the rumours that the MX-1 is discontinued are true, then anyone thinking of getting one should go for an end-of-line bargain - it is a great value compact camera.

Philip

Within your budget you might consider the K-50 body, plus the better Pentax smc 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL WR, plus (if you can manage without WR for this one) the Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG Macro Lens - total at SRS would be £637.

Philip

Thank you for your comment on the images Stephen, and thanks also to Ian for the info. on those useful extras for the MX-1.

Philip

Thank you, Mike.

Philip

Here are some more of the first batch of images from my new MX-1, shot at Apsley Lock in Hertfordshire. These concentrate on the canal bridge that crosses from the marina to the pub, as shown in yesterday's photo #7.

1. The S-curved footbridge over the Grand Union Canal (it probably feels straight, when returning from the pub!):



2. The approach path (note that the masts shown in 1 and 2 really are not vertical!):



3. The struts supporting the curves of the S-shape:



4. One of the suspension masts:



5. The central span over the canal:



6. At the pub side of the bridge, there are lots more curves:



7. The underside of the bridge:



Philip

John and Steve - thank you for viewing and for your positive comments.

Philip

The MX-1 compact cameras were on a special deal last week at Amazon (£180 and free post) so I decided to get one. It arrived yesterday and I am very impressed and pleased with it. These are some of the first images that I snapped this afternoon at Apsley Lock - a marina and housing complex beside the Grand Union Canal. Hope the photos, and that they were taken with the MX-1, are of interest.

1. The marina is packed with narrow boats:



2. A narrow noat at its berth:



3. The housing extends alongside the canal:



4. Boats also moor along the canal at Apsley:



5. The bow of one of the narrowboats:



6. Some boats have their heating fuel stored on the roof:



7. The bridge in the background is the pedestrian route to the pub:



8. The local pub is on the former site of a paper company:



9. Baskets of flowers even in February:



10. The barrels outside the pub are used to support ashtrays:



Philip

Wonderful photos. (It's amazing that you get them so sharp with a long lens while strolling in the park! )

Philip

As others have mentioned, I would have thought that the decay and corrosion would have worked well in colour, with a boost in saturation and contrast where necessary. As they are, for me the second one is less attractive due to the sky being too dark and heavy. I think that the processing needs to better differentiate the tones in the clouds and give them more structure.

Philip

The video on this page is worth a look -

http://photorumors.com/2013/12/06/new-samyang-10mm-f2-8-lens/

Philip